Inside Animal Hoarding profiles one of the largest and most intriguing cases of animal hoarding in recent history. Celeste Killeen's investigation pries open the door to Barbara Erickson's hidden and closely guarded life, offering an in-depth view of animal hoarding.

Dr. Arnold Arluke's discussion follows the Erickson story with current research on animal hoarding and how it ties into the Erickson case. This integration of investigative journalism and scholarship offers a fresh approach with appeal to a broad audience of readers, those new to learning about the phenomenon, and those with first-hand experience in the animal welfare field.

People who accumulate a large number of animals; fail to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation and veterinary care; and fail to act on the deteriorating condition of the animals, the environment, and their own health.

Hoarders justify their behavior with the view that the animals are surrogate children and that no one else can care for them. They harbor a fear that if they seek help the animals will be euthanized.

More recently, in a publication from the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium, Animal Hoarding: Structuring interdisciplinary responses to help people, animals and communities at risk, Patronek and his cohorts list four key characteristics:

Failure to provide minimal standards of sanitation, space, nutrition, and veterinary care for the animals

Inability to recognize the effects of this failure on the welfare of the animals, human members of the household, and the environment

Obsessive attempts to accumulate or maintain a collection of animals in the face of progressively deteriorating conditions

Denial or minimization of problems and living conditions for people and animals